Tallest tree living

The tallest tree currently living is a specimen of Sequoia sempervirens in Redwood National Park in California, USA. Nicknamed Hyperion, the coast redwood was discovered by Chris Atkins and Michael Taylor (both USA) on 25 August 2006 and its precise location is kept a closely guarded secret to try and protect it. By climbing and with direct tape-drop, the 2006 height was 115.55 m (379 ft 1.2 in), which was the average between the low and high sides of the tree as it grows on a slope. By 2019, the height had grown to 116.07 m (380 ft 9.7 in). The tree, which has a diameter of 4.94 m (16 ft 2.5 in) and an estimated aboveground dry mass of 209 metric tonnes (230 US tons), also has the distinction of having the world’s deepest crown (from the top of the tree to where the foliage begins), at 90.9 m (298 ft 2.7 in).

Hyperion is estimated to be between 600 and 800 years old.

Remarkably, Hyperion is situated on a hillside (not alluvial flat), 96% of the surrounding area of which has been logged of its original coast redwood growth.

Outside of its native range, the tallest planted Sequoia in the world is in Rotorua, New Zealand, as part of the Redwood Memorial Grove in Whakarewarewa Forest Park. Beginning in 2009, several trees were recorded over 68 m (223 ft), with the tallest currently known at 73.4 m (240 ft 9.8 in) as of 2017.

As of 12 October 2020, the tallest-known living trees on each continent (excluding the treeless Antarctica) are: